Preparation

For caramel sauce:

Spread powdered sugar evenly in large nonstick skillet. Cook over medium-high heat without stirring until sugar begins to melt and caramelize on bottom (sugar layer will slide when skillet is tilted), then stir until all sugar is melted and deep amber and caramel is smooth, 3 to 4 minutes. Add 1 cup cream, rum, and 1/4 teaspoon salt (some clumps will form). Stir until caramel is thick and smooth, about 1 minute. Mix in remaining 1/4 cup cream. Remove from heat and add butter; stir until sauce is thick and smooth, about 1 minute. Strain sauce into small bowl. DO AHEAD: Sauce can be made 1 week ahead. Cool, cover, and chill. Rewarm, stirring over low heat, before using.

For pudding:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Spread bread cubes out on rimmed baking sheet. Toast until beginning to feel dry but not hard, about 7 minutes. Cool on sheet. Whisk eggs, 3/4 cup sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Bring cream and half and half to simmer in medium saucepan. Very gradually whisk cream mixture into egg mixture. Strain custard into medium bowl; mix in vanilla. Cool to lukewarm, about 30 minutes.

Whisk brown sugar and butter in large skillet over medium-high heat until smooth sauce forms, about 1 minute. Whisk in rum, lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add bananas and toss just until coated, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat.

Lightly butter 8x8x2-inch glass baking dish (8-cup capacity). Scatter 1/3 of bread in dish. Top with half of bananas and half of syrup from skillet. Scatter half of remaining bread over. Top with remaining bananas and syrup from skillet, then remaining bread. Pour custard over. Let pudding stand 30 minutes, occasionally pressing down bread to submerge and to absorb custard.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place dish with pudding in 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan. Add enough warm water to pan to reach halfway up sides of pudding dish. Cover baking pan with foil. Bake pudding 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until puffed and set in center, about 45 minutes longer. Remove from water bath and let stand 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with warm caramel sauce.

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Reviews

Amazing! didn't start this dessert until 5pm for a 7:30 dinner - no problem. If you're not practiced at caramel - then do like it says and make it before (it will keep in the fridge - and you can pour it over ANYTHING). Didn't have any dark rum - used Makers Mark bourbon - insanely good. Was worried about the custard mixture being too liquidy - but thickened up in the oven.
Used hot dog buns leftover from last weekend's bbq.

Delicious way to
deal with all the
bananas getting ripe
on the same day. I
used large
croissants (about 7
will weigh one
pound), which adds
to the richness --
but you don't have
to cut off any
crusts. I baked it
in a high casserole
dish. I chilled the
leftovers, sliced
into 1-inch-thick
pieces, sauteed in
butter, and served
with maple syrup and
a few fresh banana
slices. Makes a
fabulous breakfast!

Wonderful banana flavor! I heated
the cream for the caramel as recommended
by some of the other reviewers and
didn't have any issue with clumping.
Also, I remember a chef I took a class
from once told me that sugar
becomes "angry" if you stir it too
much when making a caramel and it best
to leave it alone if at all possible.
So I just coaxed the sugar a bit to
melt and no lumps

I made this recipe to use up some challah bread that had been getting stale, and WOW is this pudding good. I even ate it cold for breakfast the next day. YUM. I had some of the Argentine jarred Dulce de Leche caramel stuff with it, and couldn't ask for more.

oh.my.goodness.
I made this last weekend for family in town and it was amazing. i almost wish i would have saved it just for me!
i used challah instead of brioche, and for the pudding i only used 1 c whipping cream and 2 c 2% milk - taste was just as good as restaurant bread pudding but not quite as heavy. YUM.

This recipe was delicious but much more time consuming than other bread pudding recipes. Next time I would either purchase a good quality caramel sauce and add a little rum to it, or use another caramel sauce recipe. Also, I did this in individual ramekins and needed more bananas. It's definitely worth repeating.

Only one small clump in the caramel, which I ate thereby gaining the first of 10 lbs. Clumping may be caused by the sugar getting too hot, keep the temp low and stir rapidly as you add the cream. Licking the wooden spoon and pan added another few lbs. This caramel is soooo good. The whole dessert is terrific.

Amazingly tasty. Love it! Didn't have
problems with the caramel like some
others did. I strained it per the
directions and it turned out fine. BUT
it took a long time to make. Although
it was really good, I won't make it
again because its too much of a hassel.

Very good, the banana flavor is very strong, especially in the left overs. I used half & half instead of cream in the caramel and only skim milk in the custard and it still turned-out great. My husband was skeptical of the name, but he has been raving since his first bite.

After reading about everyone's problems with the caramel sauce I decided to warm the cream in the microwave and gradually add it to the caramelized sugar. Worked perfectly and took about 10 minutes for the whole process. I would make this recipe again as some individuals remarked that it was the best they ever ate. I liked it too

This was fantastic! I took it to a dinner party and got rave reviews. Even the anti-dessert folks ate some and loved it! I didn't have any of the problems described with clumping but I did pour all the cream in at once and stirred quickly. I will definitely make this one again!!

This turned out beyond fantastic.
When I made the caramel, the sugar
did clump up a bit because the cream
was colder than the sugar, but maybe
if it is room temperature it won't
clump as much? After a few minutes
of stirring it was fine.
For the pudding I used Challah bread
from Trader Joes - the whole thing
turned out fantastic. Probably won't
make it again because I felt 10 lbs
heavier after eating some. Very good
though!!

I have never made caramel with
powdered sugar either....when I added
the cream a majority of the sugar
turned into a clump; however, I
turned down the heat and took my
wooden spooned and worked it until it
melted. I turned the heat down so the
caramel that didn't solidify didn't
burn. I haven't made the remainder of
the dessert yet (tomorrow night!) so
hopefully it will all work out well.
I could not find brioche so I had to
make my own (which was a trial unto
itself).

the same thing happened to me....hard rock like clumps...this is the first time i've made caramel with confectioners sugar...could it be the cornstarch ?(it is listed as an ingredient in confectioners sugar ) i have made caramel many times with regular sugar and was always successful..

Have just attempted the caramel sauce. Once the cream was poured in, most of the sauce curdled into solid, unmeltable globs. Anyone else make out better? Followed the recipe to a T - can't figure it out.